Since their debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1998, The Ladyboys of Bangkok have had a two way love affair with Scottish audiences. Repeatedly filling their custom built home, the hot pink Sabai Pavilion every year, they are currently on tour honing their latest spectacular Glow Up on a UK theatre tour before their customary month long run in the capital.
If ever there was an act that did not need a glow-up it was this one. This is an all-out extravaganza. A mix of concert, cabaret and comedy performed by a legion of stunningly beautiful performers clad in an astonishing array of the most spectacular costumes you’ll see on a UK stage.
With gender politics very much at the forefront of current conversation, The Ladyboys have ploughed their own furrow. Choosing not to engage in any political debate, they do what they do – entertain. They lip synch and dance with an energy that’s astounding to an array of high energy pop hits by the biggest divas in the industry. There’s numbers from Kylie, Gaga, Beyonce, Tina Turner, viral earworm APT, Eurovision classic Euphoria, Rocky Horror and Moulin Rouge segments and of course, their signature tribute to Scotland with The Proclaimers 500 Miles and a rousing Loch Lomond that has the audience on its feet screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs. The programme is relentless, the energy eye-watering.
While there are some mildly bawdy moments and some gentle audience harassment, by funny lady Ole (clad in turn as Tina Turner, Carmen Miranda Frank N Furter and a leprechaun) this is a show with wide appeal. The diversity of the audience is testament to the show’s popularity, and boy do the audience love it. The high energy of the performance transmits t0 the crowd, there’s singing, cheering, whooping and hollering from the get go.
While many audience members come initially out of curiosity, they keep coming back year after year due to the sheer quality of the show and this year’s offering doesn’t disappoint.
If you’re looking for an escapist night away from the mundanity of daily life, a visually stunning, euphoric celebration of being who you want to be, then this is the show for you.
Continues to tour, then in residence at the Festival Fringe in August | Image: Contributed